9 mo, still spitting up A LOT, but not when bottle-fed BM

I'm looking for some advice, Mamas. I have a 9 month old who is spitting up a lot more in the past few weeks after having slowed down for awhile and I'm both fried on the mountains of laundry and worried that my little guy is struggling (Dr says no problem as long as he's gaining and happy, which he is).
I have OS/OALD and have been block nursing for maybe 6 months or more to address this. At one point I was switching sides every 6-8 hours, but after he turned 6 months, my supply seemed to dwindle at that interval so we gradually transitioned to 4 hour blocks. This seemed to be going fine for quite some time, still some spitting up, but not the niagara falls that it had been. I'm thinking that now I'll go back up to 6 hours again and see...
I have BF this babe and my older guy (almost 3 and weaned about a month ago) and had a couple of plugged ducts over the years, but no mastitis until about 2 weeks ago when I went out of town with both of them (without my husband!) for a long, harrowing car trip and crazy weekend. I thought about whether the weaning might be connected, but he was down to one brief nursing session each morning for a long time before we stopped, so it didn't seem like a huge change supply/demand-wise.
The boy LOVES solids and eats like a fiend, but this also has not enabled him to keep it down any more (I thought maybe the thicker consistency would help).

I have tried eliminating soy and dairy a couple of times with no noticeable change in the puking pattern. I know there are other things I could try, but here's the thing that makes me think it's not a food sensitivity: When I go to work and my husband gives him BM from a bottle, he often goes the whole day until I get home with no spitting up at all! And then I get home and we nurse and voila! 6 pukes per hour sometimes.

I just want to know if you all can recommend anything else to try?
Also, thanks for reading my long first post

Re: 9 mo, still spitting up A LOT, but not when bottle-fed B

Hi meganemma! Wow I almost could have written your post! So here is what is so similar- I also have always had overproduction/forceful letdown. My 9 month old daughter also spits up alot, and it's grosser because now some solids are mixed in. yuck and peeyew!

I also found it calms down for a while and then comes back. I am also trying to figure out why it comes back. My best guess is that as she ages and nurses a bit less frequently the milk builds up in my breasts and the flow becomes harder to handle. I also think that she is getting more pressure on her tummy and ‘shook up’ more now due to how we have to hold her (and sometimes grab her) as she gets not only much heavier and longer but also more adventurous and mobile (crawling, climbing, standing, giving me heart attacks etc.) We have also found certain foods seemed to be culprits. Avocado, a favorite of my older kids, does not seem to sit well with my daughter. I also think she spits up worse when she drinks more than just a few sips of water with her solid 'meal." I keep telling my husband to remember her tummy is still very very tiny and to not worry so much about 'pushing' the water, she is still very well hydrated from breast milk.

So, I never bothered with block feeding. I found (and still find) that nursing very frequently, nursing 'laid back' and (if baby pulls off) letting my let down spray into a burp rag works well enough for us. You know what works for you so if block nursing has worked in the past, that makes sense. It will, of course, reduce milk production as that is what it is supposed to do. So if that is a concern in any way, that is something to think about.

This is my third go around with overproduction and major spitting up kids and I agree with your doctor, As long as baby is happy and healthy this is NOT a problem for baby. And some kids just have more delicate tummies. My second has a history of gagging and even vomiting at the drop of a hat-certain smells, too empty tummy, too full tummy, etc. Now 6, he is way, way better with this than he was as a toddler. I think he is just outgrowing it. And yet with all this, he and my oldest are both very very healthy and strong, as baby is as well. Funny, he (my second) was also the younger of a tandem nursed duo...I wonder if there was an overabundance when my oldest weaned? But they were both much older than your two when that happened, and it's all a blur to me now.

Food allergies via breastmilk do happen of course but are rare. I agree it does not sound like this is the problem.

Re: 9 mo, still spitting up A LOT, but not when bottle-fed B

with your doc and with LLLMeg. Spitting in an otherwise happy, healthy baby- it's a laundry problem, not a health problem. Just lay in some more bibs.

I also found that the spit-up frequency would wax and wane with time. Overall, the trend was for fewer spit-up events, but there were times when my older LO was still spitting up as frequently as a newborn. I don't know why!

Re: 9 mo, still spitting up A LOT, but not when bottle-fed B

Thanks so much for the prompt reassurances! I generally have the feeling that everything is fine, but sometimes lose sight of that when I'm on my third outfit and his fifth by 10am...! It just seems so crazy and other parents often seem shocked when they see how much he spits up, but I know there's a wide range within the "normal" category...
And I think you're right, lllmeg, about the movement thing. He has become much more mobile in the past month and is so often lurching and twisting, pressing on his belly. All that and trying to pop through with his two front teeth. I guess it does make sense, but it is just so helpful to hear that others have been through it and it actually turns out just fine